The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => Member Services => Sales and Services => Flipper Rescue => Topic started by: Retropin on June 16, 2009, 10:02:44 PM
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First of all.. i have to say that I HATE APRONS!!!!
Im not sure if ill ever do another apron restore.. its such delicate work and really tests my patience.
This is still not finished because im still not 100% happy with it ... its close.... but it aint there yet! Sorry Creech.. dont mean to tease you but i want to go just a little further with this before i CC it.
Anyway, im happy to post on this now.
Heres the apron as it came to me - doesnt look too bad, but theres rust underneath a lot of it and this has to come out, so as always, i have to go back before i can go forwards
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/GTBapron1.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/GTBapron3.jpg)
So the centre of this apron has to be rubbed back and the rust removed/ treated.
If this isnt bad enough - the white HAS to be matched. Looks white yes??? No its not its actually a blue/grey and it took me quite a while to match this, but i believe i got there. Notice how the text now has lines through it due to underlying rust lines
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/Sinbadapronrest2.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/sinbadapron.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/Sinbadapronrest3.jpg)
As you can see - i now have to repaint quite a bit of the orange stripes and oval shape, the black and of course the text - oh the text!
Also - it cant really be seen here but the bottom left corner was all rusted and so all detail is lost here also
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/Sinbadapronrest.jpg).
Problem with an apron is that the paints used are just so thin and this apron has some hidden issues. Each time i made a stencil and removed it, i would lift more of the original paint. EVERY time i took a step forward, i also took a step back. This means LOTS of meticulous touch ups. As i would wipe away something i was not happy with, id wipe away something i wanted to keep.
So the solution to this??? I CC'd it to preserve what was there and then carried on the work over the top of this. This allowed me to relax a little... but not quite completely.
The text - always the REALLY tricky bit... how do i go about this??
Id be at work and this would be on my mind - maybe water slide? Maybe cut vinyl?? Could i paint it and retain the original look and feel to the apron?... I decided to hand paint it. yes - its tested me and im still not 100% happy with it. Its a case of SLOWLY building up the text with a very fine brush. I cannot wipe any mistakes here. If i go wrong, i walk away and let dry. If i get nervous, i walk away before hand shake sets in.
At the moment, im working on this in the morning before work, allowing to dry during the day and then do another bit in the evening when i get home. Gradually, it coming together and looking squared off... just some fine adjustment needed now to the edges of the orange and some of the text.
Anyway - this is it now.. looking 99% done. Centres of the 'P's" need to be uniform and the "O" isnt quite there. It will be CC'd, allowed to cure and shipped back to Creech who is chomping at the bit to get his game back.
Will i RESTORE another apron??? Er.... ask me in a month or 2 when ive forgotten the pain i went to with this one - LOL!
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/Sinbadapronfinals3.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/Sinbadapronfinals2.jpg)
(http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr243/retropin/Sinbadapronfinals7.jpg)
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you certainly are a patient man Gav. excellent job and you handpainted the letters WOW #*#
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Mate, if I had known before hand you would have gone through all that grief I would have said forget about it. I remember when the apron was sent off it was just going to be an easy touchup. I do apologise and I owe you a big one. I feel really bad it has stressed you out like you said.
It looks amazing. I would have said it was ready ages ago but it seems you have gone the extra mile on this one.
$%$
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Good work gav,
What a difficult resto, very tricky that lettering
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Great perseverance Gav - and I guess it is all here to see that sometimes things don't go to plan, but you get there eventually. It is a "rare" breed of perfectionists that are not happy with 99%.
I know Gav is one of those, and so is Tony *%*
Lets just say that once this machine is finished, there will be no doubt that it will be one of the best (if not the best) Sinbad machines in Australia.
^^^
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I can feel the pain, but I reckon it is worth it.
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looks good to me!
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Looks great to me too, well done ^^^
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GREAT JOB GAV I CAN TELL YOUR NOT INTO RAP BY THIS JOB
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Great Job Gav hand painting the lettering now thats hard work your a very patient man
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Bloody excellent as always mate ^^^
Tell you must of done that sober and also not after a massive night on the p*ss :lol
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well done looks great
geez I am glad i got all the em and ss in
can i send you another 50 or so ?
sure AP members will want them
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well done looks great
geez I am glad i got all the em and ss in
can i send you another 50 or so ?
sure AP members will want them
I'd say 90% of them went to good homes.. Including Daniel's and mine %.%
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Think your work is 100% considering its done by hand. I bought an apron with nearly the identical blemishes for $5 bucks just so I could have a bit of fun. Hope mine turns out 90% as good as yours. I'm going to attempt the water decal approach and see what happens. Hope I can ask for advise every now and then.
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Apron is actually finished and had 5 coats of CC, each with a sand back to give a glass like finish.. will post pics soon
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Can't wait to see those. *%*
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Apron is actually finished and had 5 coats of CC, each with a sand back to give a glass like finish.. will post pics soon
Mate - I cannot wait to see the results. will put a great finishing touch to the playfield.